From: "Paul H. Merrill" <phm@sprynet.com>
Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 05:30:47 +0800
To: Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>
Subject: Re: Surveillance State Delayed
In-Reply-To: <3.0.2.32.19970529165544.0378ce64@panix.com>
Message-ID: <338E1CFA.32D8@sprynet.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Duncan Frissell wrote:
> 
<<snip>>
> But this article on citizenship revocation gives lie to this claim of state
> power.  Citizenship applicants have submitted vast quantities of information
> about themselves to the Feds.  They have undergone years of a staged and
> complex process to move from nonresident alien to resident alien to citizen.
> At every point, they NARCed themselves out in detail directly to the federal
> government.  And yet, that same government can't even tell if these people
> are
> "criminals."
> 
> If they can't efficiently surveil and regulate this group, what chance do
> they
> have to regulate and surveil the other 260 million of us?
> 
> DCF
The important thing to remember about police state tactics is that it is
not a case of hyper-efficient use of the police -- it is hyper-use of
those powers to harass and harrangue those that they Feel like doing it
to.  No need to worry about guilt or innocence or any of that, just pick
a target and get what you can, if it isn't enough - invent.

> 
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-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paul H. Merrill                Merlyn Enterprises
paulmerrill@acm.org
I have no opinions (just facts)
    so it doesn't matter what my employer thinks.